Apparatus for mincing and/or beating and/or mixing edible materials such as meat, fruit and vegetables

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an apparatus for mincing and/or beating, comminuting, chopping, pulverizing, emulsifying, mixing, kneading, whisking and the like of materials, particularly edible materials, such as meat, starchy foods, fruit and vegetables which comprises a near-spherical container, at least one knife mounted for rotation within the container, coupled with safety features to prevent injuries to the operators.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of copending U.S. applicationSer. No. 786,594 filed Apr. 11, 1977, now abandoned, claiming priorityof French patent application 76 27771, filed Sept. 6, 1976 and filingdate of the U.S. application and the priority under the Convention ofthe French application are claimed herefor for all subject matterscommon to them.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

An apparatus for treating edible materials the intended operation ofwhich includes mincing, beating, mixing, cutting, pulverising, whisking,emulsifying and the like. (Class 241/282X) 2. Description of the PriorArt

U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,024,010 issued Mar. 6, 1962 to K. H. Sperling,3,700,176 issued Oct. 24, 1972 to N. Haber, and French Pat. No.1,053,044 published Jan. 29, 1954, to C. F. Jaeger, are made of record.

Food mincing and mixing apparatus are well known in many differentforms, most of which employ knives or whisks which are rotated in acontainer or drum for the material to be treated. In one particular formof the apparatus, the knives are mounted for rotation about a horizontalaxis within a semi-toric container; for achieving homogeneity of theresulting product, the container is given a rapid rotational movementabout a vertical axis passing through the center of the containeritself. The resulting complexity of the apparatus limits it toindustrial users, such as butchers, bakers and confectioners.

A mixing apparatus which is simpler and therefore suitable for domesticuse has a flat-bottomed container, in which one or more horizontalknives rotate adjacent the bottom of the container, with the knife endspassing close to the lateral wall of the container. In such anapparatus, there is a tendency for the treated material to move up incontact with the container wall, to which the material tends to stickand therefore to be incompletely worked by the knives.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus is provided formincing and/or beating and/or mixing, having a near spherical containerfor materials to be treated and an inwardly directed protuberance in theform of a truncated cone. A knife or knives are mounted for rotationwithin the container, on a drive shaft passing through the protuberance.With such an apparatus, material rising up the wall of the container isautomatically detached to fall back into the zone of the knife orknives. As the material moves up the wall the surface volume of the wallincreases towards the horizontal diametrical plane of the container andfacilitates a return movement of the material. Beyond the aforesaiddiametrical plane, the forces of gravity on the material overcome theadhesive forces and thus cause the material to fall back into theinterior of the container.

Preferably the knife, or one of the knives, has a blade portion which isarcuately curved to conform to the lower interior shape of the containerand to extend contiguous thereto, from a location at the upper terminusof the shaft, downwardly along the frustoconical shape of theprotuberance, then upwardly along the spherical surface of thecontainer, to terminate in a first plane normal to the axis of rotationof the shaft, and lying between second and third planes passingrespectively through the upper end of the shaft and the geometricalcenter of the sphere, all planes being parallel. The portion of theblade thus shaped is adapted to act on material located within anannular space between the lateral conical surface of the protuberanceand the adjacent wall of the container. As a consequence, there is nodead space in which material can accumulate without being acted upon bythe knife. There may additionally be at least one flat knife mounted torotate parallel to the upper face of the protuberance and to operate onmaterial disposed above that annular space. The flat knife or knivesthus act on material present in considerable quantity, and/or while thematerial is falling back into the annular space from the wall. Thecombination of the actions of the two knives acting in different regionsensures that complete treatment of the material is achieved.

Preferably the shaft is inclined to the vertical at a relatively smallor acute angle when the container is in operating position. As a resultwhen there is only a small quantity of material to be treated, thatmaterial is located in the bottom portion of the annular space and issubjected very thoroughly to the action of the arcuately-curved knife,without any danger of the knife being operative only on the surfacelayers of the material. The driving shaft may be driven by any suitablemeans. However, in the preferred form of the invention, it is rotated bydirect connection to the rotor shaft of an electric motor. The motorcontrol circuit includes braking means by which the motor is quicklystopped when its circuit is opened. Coasting of the motor is thusobviated. As a further safety feature, switch means for the motorcircuit are provided which are closed only by and in response to closureor emplacement of the cover of the container.

In another and preferred embodiment the container is removable, and canbe separated from the base, and the container can be held on the base bysecuring means. This provision enables, firstly, the items of food to betreated to be placed in the container in advance and, secondly, thecontainer to be very easily cleaned after use and independently of thebase.

The invention also provides that the container may be equipped, insteadof the knives, with either a slicing disc or a grating disc. In thiscase the invention provides two different covers, one for use with theknives and the other for use with the discs. The covers are eachequipped with a tongue which, after the cover has been placed on thecontainer and the cover has been rotated, forces down a button, therebyclosing the starting contact of a motor. Further, the motor incorporatesa device which causes the motor to be stopped immediately after thestarting contact has been disengaged through the cover being rotated inthe opposite direction.

As the cover can only be raised by this rotation in the oppositedirection, by which the starting contact of the motor is opened, theuser of the apparatus cannot be hurt or injured as, in order to reachthe items of food being treated, he has to raise the cover and, hence,to open the starting contact for the motor. This represents a novelfeature over the prior art apparatuses.

In accordance with a particular feature of the invention the shaft ofthe driving device is inclined by an angle of between 5° and 20°relative to the vertical. A number of experiments have shown that anangle within this range permits optimal processing of the items of foodby the knives, and causes them to fall back to the base of the containerin the most efficient way possible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view in vertical section of the apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a section on the line a-b-c-d-e-f of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an apparatusaccording to the invention.

FIGS. 4a and 4b are front and side views of a cover.

FIG. 5 is a front view of another form of cover.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the knives.

FIG. 7 is a cross-section through the container, without the cover.

FIG. 8 is a view of the driveshaft, the base being shown partiallycross-sectioned.

FIGS. 9a and 9b are perspective views of two ribs belonging to the base.

FIG. 10 illustrates the means for locking the container to the base.

FIG. 11 is a view of the electrical contact mechanism for starting themotor.

FIGS. 12 and 13 are views from below and in cross section, respectively,of a slicing disc.

FIGS. 14 and 15 are views from below and in cross section, respectively,of a grating disc.

FIG. 16 depicts a wiring diagram, as an example, of a conventionalelectric braking apparatus which may be adapted to the device of theinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a container 1, which isof near-spherical form and which has a removable cover 2, enablingmaterial to be treated to be introduced into the container. Thecontainer 1 is mounted on or in a base or frame 12, by means of twointerfitting rings or rims 13 and 14, ring 13 being integral with base12 and ring 14 being integral with container 1. Base 12 forms a casingfor an electric motor 5 having a drive shaft 4, and is so constructedthat shaft 4 is inclined to the vertical by an angle ω, when theapparatus is located upon a horizontal table T. The inventor conducted aconsiderable amount of experiments and ascertained that thenear-spherical container must be tilted to the optimum angle which ispreferably between 5° to 20°. It will be understood that the motorhousing encompasses the control circuitry subsequently described inconnection with FIG. 16.

Container 1 is formed at its base with an inwardly-extendingprotuberance 3 which as shown is in the form of a truncated cone andthrough which extends the shaft 4 of motor 5. Mounted on the upper endof the shaft by means of a retainer ring 8, are two knives 6 and 7.Knife 6 is flat and as shown extends at right angles to the axis of theshaft. The blade of knife 7 comprises two portions or parts. First part9 which is substantially planar or flat, closely conforms to the conicalsurface of protuberance 3 when the appliance is in operation. The otherpart 10 has a form which as shown upon FIG. 1, extends arcuatelyupwardly from a point at the outer or distal end of part 9 closelycontiguous to the circular intersection of the base of protuberance 3and the spherical surface of the container, to a point indicated at "d,"lying in a plane intermediate a plane through the upper end of shaft 4and another through the geometrical center of the container, all planesbeing parallel and normal to the axis of rotation of the shaft.

Part 10 as shown lies closely adjacent the wall of the container.

Also referring to FIG. 2 it is noted that the blade of knife 7, in plan,has the form of an "S," symmetrical with the axis of the shaft, thecutting edges being on and along the convex edges. That is, the bladerotates counterclockwise as viewed upon the figure.

An annular space 11-11' is defined between protuberance 3 and theadjacent wall of the container. It is in that space that the materialaccumulates when the quantity is small, it being noted that materialwithin the space thus defined, is not subject to the action of blade 6but, because of the particular form thereof, is subject to the action ofblade 7.

The apparatus as described and illustrated is capable of being used fordomestic and industrial purposes, only the dimensions varying accordingto the use for which it is intended. There is no dead space in whichmaterial can accumulate, without being treated. The material isthoroughly worked by the knives 6, 7, any material rising up the wall ofthe container being caused to fall back, as explained above, into thepath of the knives. Because of the absence of any dead space, theapparatus can be used for the treatment of small quantities of material,the entire volume at the bottom of the container being swept by knife 7.

Although an electric motor 5 is shown for driving the blade 6, 7, itwill be understood that other drive means may be employed, such as ahand driven mechanism.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 and in the followingFigures an apparatus according to the invention comprises a base 15, aremovable container 16, above which is a cover 17.

The base 15 encloses an electric motor (not shown) which drives aninclined shaft 18, which has a frustoconical base 19. The shaft 18 hassplines 20. The container 16 has a base having a frustoconicalprotuberant portion 21 surmounted by a hollow column 22.

The frustoconical shape of the protuberant portion 21 matches that ofthe base 19, and the height of the hollow column 22 matches the heightof the shaft 18.

Also, the upper part of the base 15 is in the form of a dished portion23, which matches the shape of the lower spherical part of the container16. Thus, when the container 16 has been placed in position, thefrustoconical portion 21 and the column 22 surmount, and closely followthe shape of, the base 19 and shaft 18.

The apparatus comprises a device for attaching the removable container16 to the base 15 so that, during operation, the container 16 and base15 cannot be separated from each other. The fastening device comprisesmeans for ensuring that the container 16 will be fast in rotation withthe base 15, and means for locking the container 16 and base 15 to oneanother.

The means for making the container and base fast in rotation with oneanother are constituted by, firstly, two ribs 24 and 25 on the upperpart of the base 15, this upper part being shaped as a dished part 23.The ribs 24 and 25 stand out from the wall 26 of the dished part 23, andlie diametrically opposite one another. These ribs 24, 25 are eachconstituted by a first, gently inclined face, 27 and 28, and by asecond, more steeply inclined face 29 and 30. Container 16 also has tworibs 31 and 32, which are diametrically opposed, on its lower wall.

When the container 16 is placed on to the base 15 and the container 16is turned in the direction in which the ribs 31 and 32 first meet thefaces 27 and 28 (that is to say in the direction of arrows f₁ and f₂ ofFIGS. 9a and 9b) it is easy, by continuing this rotation, to cause ribs31 and 32 to pass ribs 24 and 25. The container 16 will then be inposition for operation. The container cannot become disengaged throughrotation in the opposite direction from that described above, because itwould require the exertion of greater force to cause ribs 31 and 32 topass ribs 24 and 25, as ribs 31 and 32 would then first have to crossthe more steeply-inclined faces 29 and 30.

The means for locking the container 16 to the base 15 comprises two lugs36, which belong to the base 15, are diametrically opposite one anotherrelative to the shaft 18, and jut out in two recesses 37 formed in theouter wall of the base 15.

Provided for co-operation with the lug 36 are two slots 38 formed in twosymmetrically disposed faces 39 on the wall of the container 16, closeto the bottom of the latter. These faces 39 are constituted by twocheeks 40 and 41, which are offset relative to one another andinterconnected by a shoulder 42.

When, prior to use and when the container 16 is positioned on the stand,the container 16 is turned so as to bring the ribs 31 and 32 in contactwith ribs 24 and 25, in the manner described above, lug 36 lies behindcheek 41 and directly behind the part of the slot 38 formed in thischeek 41.

By rotating container 16 in the direction of arrow f₃ in FIG. 10 ribs 31and 32 are caused to pass ribs 24 and 25, and lug 36 is brought into thepart of slot 38 formed in the cheek 40.

The front face 43 of lug 36 comes into contact with the end 44 of slot38, thereby preventing any continuation of rotation of container 16relative to the base 15. The lug 36 then participates in making thecontainer fast in rotation with the base.

Further, the lug 36 locks the container to the base, as this lug 36 iscompletely engaged in the part of the slot lying in cheek 40, andprevents any upward movement of the container relative to the base.

FIGS. 4a and 4b illustrate a cover which is similar to cover 17illustrated in FIG. 3. It comprises an upper part 45 which is in theform of a spherical cap having a long projecting ridge 46 and twoshorter ridges 47 and 48. The three ridges enable the cover to be easilymanipulated.

The top of the spherical cap comprises a funnel 49 by means of whichmaterials to be treated can be introduced into the container 16, inparticular liquids. At the base of the spherical cap a lower cylindricalextension 50 corresponds to an upper projection 51 belonging to thecontainer, the extension 50 lying within the extension 51 when the coveris in position.

The cover also comprises a circular rim 52 having two segments bent overto define a hook-like portion 53 which is intended to engage under twoarcuate protuberances 54 of the upper extension 51 of the container 16.Rotating the cover relative to the container causes the protuberances 54to engage in the hook-shaped segments 53, so that the cover is locked onto the container.

The cover 17 is equipped with a tongue 55 which is extended by a crankedpart 56 composed of two flat segments 57 and 58 which together include aright angle. Segment 58 is cut across to define a bevel, and the twosides 59 and 60 of its lower portion together include an obtuse angle.

The base 15 (FIG. 3), which encloses the motor, comprises an upperextension 61 which forms a hood for a contact for starting the motor ofthe apparatus. The hood 61 is formed with a slot 62 in which the crankparts 56 can enter.

The slot 62 itself defines an elbow bend and is constituted by a first,substantially horizontal slot 63, which merges into a second,substantially vertical slot 64.

During the turning movement by means of which cover 17 is locked tocontainer 16, the segment 57 enters the slot 63, and segment 58 entersslot 64. During the turning movement of the cover 17 (FIG. 11) in thedirection of arrow f₄ the side 59 of segment 58 comes into contact witha spring-loaded push knob 65. This knob or button 65 is pressed down inthe direction of arrow f₅ until it abuts against the edge 60, thusclosing a switch 66 serving to start the apparatus motor 67. Switch 66is described with more details in conjunction with FIG. 16.

This reveals a notable feature of the apparatus, that is to say therotation of the cover relative to the container thus causes this coverto be locked to the container and also causes the motor to be started.As soon as the items of food have been treated rotation of the cover inthe opposite direction disengages the push button 65, thereby openingcontact 66 and stopping the motor; at the end of the rotation of thecover the hook-shaped segments 53 disengage from the protuberantportions 54 and the cover can be raised.

FIG. 5 illustrates another cover 68 which can be fitted on the container16. Cover 68 comprises the same means as cover 45 for securing it to thecontainer, viz. rims and hook-shaped segments, and also the same means(as cover 45) for actuating the push button (a cranked tongue). In placeof a funnel, cover 68 comprises a spout 69 by means of which theproducts to be treated can be introduced; cover 68 also comprises a plugor stopper 70.

FIGS. 12, 13 and 14, 15 respectively show discs 71 and 72, which can befitted on the shaft 18 of the apparatus motor. Disc 71 is extended by aninternally splined column or stem, which can engage on the splines 20 ofshaft 18.

Stem 73 is connected to disc 71 by three ribs 74 each of which carries astud 75, in which a screw 76 makes the disc fast with the correspondingrib 74.

Disc 71 is formed with a substantially radial slot 77; a toothed blade78 is spot-welded (79) slightly above, and set back from, slot 77.

Disc 72 is also extended by a stem 80, which is internally splined inthe same manner as stem 73.

Stem 80 is secured to disc 72 in the same way as stem 73 is secured todisc 71. Disc 72 is formed with a number of substantially circular,small orifices 81, and a part 82 of the edge of each orifice 81 isupwardly raised so as to form a number of small knives.

FIG. 6 shows two knives 92 and 93 mounted on a ring 94. These knives 92,93 each has a blade which is identical to the blade of knives 6 and 7 ofFIGS. 1 and 2.

Ring 94 is provided with a central tube 95 which is internally splinedin such a way that splines exactly fit on the splines of shaft 18. Thespace defined between the ring 94 and the inner tube 95 corresponds tothe column 22, so that the ring can fit over this column 22 when theapparatus is to be used with the knives.

Knife 92 comprises, like knife 7, two parts, viz. a planar portion92_(a) and an arcuate portion 92_(b).

As is clear from FIG. 7, in which knife 92 is indicated by dashed line,the length of part 92_(b) is such that its end lies below the planeP.P', which extends perpendicularly of the shaft 18 passing through thecentre of the spherical container.

The two latches of the base and the combination of the two first ribs onthe external surface of the ball with the two ribs on the base having aspecial profile of a gentle slope upwardly and a steep slope downwardlyfacilitate the anticlockwise rotation necessary to lock the ball andensures that a clockwise rotation of the ball cannot occur such as froman occasional shock.

Referring to FIG. 16, motor 5 is indicated by dot-dash lines. Althoughthe control parts are or may be enclosed within the motor casing, theyare, for clarity of illustration and description, shown apart from themotor, enclosed within the dot-dash rectangle 5a. The motor is asingle-phase machine equipped with two field coils 115 and 116, a relayor coupler 117 and a starting condenser 118. Coils 115 and 116 areconnected to the neutral N of an a.c. supply. When connected through onepair of terminals 119 of an on-off switch 66 (see also FIG. 11), themotor is supplied by way of a terminal B. As will be noted from FIG. 16,switch 66 includes three pairs of terminals, namely, terminals 119previously identified, 120 and 121. When in the "off" position shownupon the figure, terminals 120 are bridged. When in the "on" position,terminals 120 are opened and terminals 119 and 121 are closed. Passageof "off" to "on" position is due to the pressing down of spring-loadedpush knob 65 by segment 58 as explained previously in connection withFIG. 11.

Contacts or terminals 120 connect phase U and the anode of thyristor T₁,the cathode of which is connected directly to motor terminal A, and tothe anode of diode D₁. The cathode of D₁ is connected through terminals121, to motor terminal A. Terminals 121 are shunted by a time-constantcircuit comprising resistors R₁ and R₂, and condenser C₁. One terminalof the condenser is also connected to the trigger of tyristor T₁. Whenterminals 120 are bridged, this time circuit is supplied by diode D₁,with a half-wave current.

When switch 66 is in the "off" position of FIG. 16, terminals 119 areopen and the motor is de-energized. Terminals 120 being closed at thistime, condenser C₁ is charged. The voltage on the trigger of T₁ is thenequal to that on its cathode and T₁ is blocked.

When switch 66 is moved to its "on" position, terminals 120 are openedand 119 and 121 are closed. The motor is energized through terminals119. As terminals 121 are also bridged at this time, condenser C₁ isdischarged, T₁ becomes unblocked but is not supplied since terminals 120are open at this time. When switch 66 is again moved to the "off"position of FIG. 16, terminals 119 are opened and motor 5 is no longersupplied. T₁ being then unblocked, is supplied through presently-closedterminals 120. Terminals 121 are also open at this time. Thus motorterminal A is supplied with a half-wave current as indicated at 123,thus producing an instantaneous induction braking. But C₁ is thenprogressively charged through diode D₁ and resistances R₁ and R₂. Whenthus charged, C₁ blocks T₁, motor terminal A is no longer supplied andthe motor is immediately brought to rest.

The combination of the circuitry of FIG. 16 with the ball mount to thebase and the safety interlock controlled by the rotation of the coverensures that the electric circuit is open when the cover is not locked.When the motor is shut off by the unlocking of the cover it stopsimmediately the shaft and leaves it free to rotate about its axis.

I claim:
 1. In a power-driven mixing, comminuting and blendingapparatus, a hollow base, an essentially spherical container supportedon and surmounting said base to have an upright diametral axis ofsymmetry, said container at its base being formed as a re-entrantfrusto-conical protuberance symmetrical about said axis at the lower endthereof, a shaft journaled in said base for rotation coaxially with saidaxis and extending upwardly through said protuberance and terminatingbelow a first plane lying intermediate the top and bottom of thecontainer and disposed normal to said axis, a knife fixed to the upperend of said shaft contiguous with and above said protuberance, saidknife including a first portion passing radially outwardly anddownwardly from said axis, closely adjacent to the surface of saidprotuberance, and a second portion integral with said first portion andarcuately shaped to extend upwardly from the radially-outward terminusof said first portion and closely adjacent to the surface of saidcontainer, said second portion terminating in a second plane normal tosaid axis and intersecting the same at a point substantially below thepoint of intersection of said first plane with said axis, means forsecuring the container to the base against rotation relative to the baseand means for locking the container to the base, and a motor fixed toand within said base and connected with said shaft to rotate the same,said knife also including a third portion diametrically opposite fromsaid first and second portions and lying in and rotating in a thirdplane normal to said axis and substantially below said second plane,said container having an access opening in its top, symmetrical withrespect to said axis, and a cover to fit the rim of said opening toclose the opening, said base being constructed and arranged, whensupported on a horizontal surface, to mount said axis at an angle of 5°to 20° to the vertical.
 2. A power-driven comminuting, mixing andblending apparatus comprising a hollow base, an essentially sphericalcontainer supported on and surmounting said base to have an uprightdiametral axis of symmetry, said container at its base being formed as are-entrant frusto-conical protuberance symmetrical about said axis, ashaft journaled in said base for rotation coaxially with said axis andextending upwardly through said protuberance and terminating below afirst plane lying intermediate the top and bottom of the container anddisposed normal to said axis, a knife fixed to the upper end of saidshaft contiguous with and above said protuberance, said knife includinga first portion passing radially outwardly and downwardly from saidaxis, closely adjacent to the surface of said protuberance, said knifealso including a second portion integral with said first portion andarcuately shaped to extend upwardly from the radially-outward terminusof said first portion and closely adjacent to the surface of saidcontainer, said second portion terminating in a second plane normal tosaid axis and intersecting the same at a point substantially below thepoint of intersection of said first plane with said axis, means forsecuring the container to the base against rotation relative to the baseand means for locking the container to the base, and a motor fixed toand within said base and connected with said shaft to rotate the same,said knife also including a third portion diametrically opposite fromsaid first and second portions and lying in and rotating in a thirdplane normal to said axis and substantially below said second plane,said container having an access opening in its top, symmetrical withrespect to said axis, and a cover to fit the rim of said opening toclose said opening, said base being constructed and arranged, whensupported on a horizontal surface, to mount said axis at an angle of 5°to 20° to the vertical, and wherein said means for securing thecontainer to the base comprises two ribs standing out from the containerand co-operating with two ribs standing out from the base, said two ribsstanding out from the base constituted by a gently-inclined face and bya more steeply-inclined face, and said means for locking the containerto the base comprise two lugs projecting from the base and two cheeks onthe container, a slot for the lugs being formed in said cheeks.
 3. Anapparatus as claimed in claim 2,said motor having a starting contactwith a push button; said cover being equipped with a cranked lug; saidbase being formed with a slot giving access to said push button; saidcranked lug to pass through said slot; the lower portion of said crankedlug co-operating with the push button for closing and opening saidstarting contact.
 4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, furthercomprising:a braking means for the motor; an electric circuitryactuating said braking means; an on-off switch actuating said circuitry;said circuitry comprising means to produce an instantaneous braking inthe off position of said switch and when the motor is shut off by theunlocking of the cover safety interlock means controlled by the rotationof said cover to insure that the circuit remains open when the cover isnot locked; said switch means being closed only after emplacement of thecover on the container.